The government, as well as consumers, have stepped up their demands for low emissions and high fuel economy engines. In response, manufacturers are considering many new design options. One option is to use a highly dilute (EGR or air dilution) pre-mixed charge to increase engine efficiency and reduce emissions.
Today's engines equipped with conventional spark ignition systems have serious limitations as to the amount of dilution that is tolerable before unstable operation occurs. Ignition systems that are capable of delivering high levels of energy to the air/fuel mixture are a key factor in redesigning engines to run at highly dilute conditions.